Each team had three squads, and although there was no animosity between the squads, they were always competing. Seeing such a thorny new recruit in one of the squads, the other teams couldn’t help but feel a sense of schadenfreude, running and shouting alongside Fang Yun’s team.

“The veterans of the first squad, I don’t think this looks good! This Fang Yun doesn’t even pant when he runs!”

“I bet all the people in the first squad will be overtaken by this Fang Yun, they’ll have to shave their heads!”

“That Fang is really something, there’s the Accomplished Scholar Fang Yun above, and now this Child Scholar Fang Yun below, it’s really something.”

“It’s over, the veterans of the first squad can’t keep up!”

Some of the veterans didn’t say anything, but they all followed with smirks on their faces.

The veterans of the first squad were quite depressed. Losing to a new recruit was one thing, but being laughed at by others was another.

The competitive atmosphere in the army was even stronger than in the academy, and the temperament of the soldiers was more straightforward than that of the scholars.

Seeing that the others wouldn’t let it go, the squad leader Hong Cheng shouted while running, “All you bastards, get out of the way! If any of you have the balls, come and compete with our first squad! If we lose, we’ll wash your clothes for a year! If you lose, you’ll wash ours! Since when did our Dinghai Army start determining rank by talking?!”

The people of the first squad laughed heartily, while the others hesitated.

Fang Yun, with a vengeful smirk, looked at those who had been stirring up trouble earlier and said, “I think it’s you who are embarrassing the veterans! If you lose, you won’t eat tomorrow. Are you in or not?”

“You little brat! I was wondering if you were that Fang Yun, but now I’m sure you’re not! That Fang Yun is always peaceful and humble, but you dare to provoke us as soon as you arrive, you’re dead meat! Brothers of the second squad, are we in or not?”

“Let’s do it!”

“What about the brothers of the third squad?”

“We can’t lose to a new recruit! Let’s go!”

More than twenty people from the second and third squads roared and rushed over, running alongside Fang Yun.

Captain Shi stood at the entrance, a smile on his face.

“This kid is not bad, he’s got guts!”

The Dinghai Army’s city run was not just a simple long-distance run.

After leaving the barracks, the leading Hong Cheng suddenly accelerated, increasing his speed by fifty percent. The other veterans were not surprised and accelerated with him.

There were soldiers from Yuhai City everywhere on the road. They all laughed when they saw this. It was common for new recruits to be hazed with a city run, but it was rare to see people from three squads running together.

When they ran out of the crowded area of the East Sub-city and arrived at the foot of the nearest city wall, Hong Cheng looked back at Fang Yun with a slightly cold smile and said, “This is just the beginning.”

With that, Hong Cheng began to accelerate.

Fang Yun found that this Child Scholar squad leader was indeed formidable. His current speed was even faster than a normal person’s hundred-meter sprint, and it seemed that he was going to maintain it for a long time. Even an ordinary Accomplished Scholar couldn’t match this kind of veteran who had been training his body for years.

An additional infusion of talent energy had a huge effect on the literary energy, but it couldn’t compare to more than three years of physical training.

Moreover, these veterans were often strengthened by the power of the Departure Poem. Over time, their bodies would become stronger and stronger.

Those who were not Child Scholars also accelerated without hesitation.

Fang Yun kept up, and after a while, his breathing became slightly rapid.

But the breathing of the people around him was even more rapid.

As time passed, the speed of the team noticeably slowed down after half an hour.

The breathing of the non-Child Scholar veterans was incredibly rapid, almost one breath per second.

The veterans behind Fang Yun stared at his back, their eyes somewhat blank.

“Something’s not right! By this time, the new recruits should have stopped and leaned against the wall!”

“Could this Fang Yun be a disguised member of the Military Strategists, here for training?”

The veterans in front occasionally looked back.

“Damn it! If he doesn’t stop, I won’t be able to hold on!” One person said, and the fire in his heart went out, his steps slowing down.

After a while, all the non-Child Scholars’ breathing became more and more chaotic, and they had to slow down. They gave up the sprint.

In the end, only twelve Child Scholar veterans and Fang Yun were still running, while the others could only lean against the wall and walk slowly.

“He must be from the Military Strategists!”

“I saw it coming. He looks naive on the surface, but when we old foxes mocked him, he was neither angry nor afraid, clearly knowing the rules of the army.”

“Having someone from the Military Strategists is a good thing. We’ll be safer, but it’s just a bit embarrassing.”

“You’ll get used to it. By the way, don’t talk about this, or our relationship with the Military Strategists will fade.”

The veterans nodded in agreement.

“Sigh, I really wish that genius Fang Yun would major in the Military Strategists. Although Confucianism is the main path, it’s not good for killing enemies, unless he can become a Semi-Saint.”

“Yeah, I hope this Fang Yun also has the talent of that Fang Yun and becomes a Semi-Saint of the Military Strategists.”

“You guys think too much, there can’t be that many genius Fang Yuns! Let’s go back and see if we can catch up with them!”

The veterans turned around and walked counterclockwise along the city wall of the East Sub-city. Before long, they saw the Child Scholar veterans running towards them. Except for a few whose steps were a bit messy, everyone else was steady.

“Look, Fang Yun is sweating less than they are.”

“Not only that! His breathing is also very steady, it’s not good to be ignorant, but it’s worse to compare!”

“Hey, I say you guys stop comparing, Fang Yun is obviously stronger than you!” As soon as one person shouted this, he immediately received angry glares from all the Child Scholar veterans.

After the team of Child Scholar veterans passed, the man whispered, “Well, it’s true.”

These non-Child Scholar veterans continued to march. Soon, they saw Fang Yun and the others who were running around the city again. This time, everyone’s speed had slowed down. Except for Fang Yun, all the Child Scholars were panting heavily, but they still gritted their teeth and ran.

If they were running around the city at a leisurely pace, these Child Scholars could run for a whole day. But now, they were sprinting at full speed. After running nearly two laps around the vast Eastern Prefecture, the Child Scholar veterans were nearing their limits.

The non-Child Scholar veterans exchanged glances, their mischievousness flaring up again.

“Victory to the new recruits!”

“We stand with the new recruits!”

“Go Fang Yun!” The veterans shouted slogans that had spread from the oil press workers.

With more than a dozen veterans shouting like this, the morale of the Child Scholar veterans instantly collapsed!

A Child Scholar veteran who was already struggling to keep up changed from running to walking, panting heavily and angrily said, “You bastards! I quit! This Fang Yun must be a descendant of the Military Strategists! I’ve seen descendants of the Military Strategists before, they have the power of the Path of the Saints of Bravery, otherwise, they couldn’t possibly be this fierce! Damn it, he’s like a little tiger, I can’t compete! Ah, I’m so angry my liver hurts.”

A Child Scholar soldier in front was amused by his words, also changed from running to walking, waving his hand and saying, “I quit running! I’ll do the laundry! I won’t eat tomorrow!”

The other Child Scholar veterans stopped one after another. But the three squad leaders of the Child Scholars were still unwilling to admit defeat and continued to run, with Fang Yun silently following behind them.

This was already the third lap.

The three squad leaders were patient at first, but after running more than half a lap, they kept looking back at Fang Yun.

At first, their eyes were fierce, as if to say, let’s see how long you can run!

After a while, their eyes were filled with anxiety, as if to say, why are you still here!

Soon, their eyes became a little dazed, as if to say, please stop running, we’re about to collapse!

Seeing that the three squad leaders were about to faint from exhaustion, Fang Yun said softly, “I want to eat tomorrow.”

The squad leader of the second squad let out a heart-wrenching scream, “Just for a few meals! You should have said it earlier! So cruel! We, the second squad, admit defeat, you, the first squad, win!”

The squad leader of the third squad silently started walking, slowly recovering his strength, his head down, as if he had suffered a great blow.

Fang Yun also stopped running, giving some face to his squad leader.

The squad leader of the first squad, Hong Cheng, finally started walking, saying in a low voice, “When we started running, I thought, if I lose to you, I’ll give you the position of squad leader. Luckily, I kept my mouth shut!”

“It’s so embarrassing. If anyone dares to spread what happened today, see you on the drill ground! I’ll kill him!” The squad leader of the second squad said with a dark face as he walked slowly.

“I’ll help you!” said the squad leader of the third squad.

Hong Cheng suddenly grinned, walked over, and put his arm around Fang Yun’s shoulder, “Good boy! The future of the Military Strategists depends on you! Hehe, the Child Scholars of the Military Strategists are indeed formidable! Did you use this pseudonym because you wanted to surpass Fang Yun of our Jade Sea Prefecture? Don’t worry, we soldiers naturally support the Military Strategists!”

Fang Yun helplessly said, “Isn’t Fang Yun from the Great Source Prefecture?”

Hong Cheng suddenly widened his eyes and said, “He raced dragon boats in our Jade Sea Prefecture, took the Accomplished Scholar exam in our Jade Sea Prefecture, and climbed the Book Mountain, so naturally, he is from our Jade Sea Prefecture!”

“From the way you’re talking, it doesn’t sound like you’re supporting the Military Strategists.” Fang Yun said.

Hong Cheng said very honestly, “After all, you’re an outsider. We people of Jade Sea can’t let the people of the Military Strategists feel cold. On the Qixi Literary Meeting, do you want to compete in poetry with Fang Yun of our Jade Sea Prefecture?”

Fang Yun was amused and helpless, this Hong Cheng was really interesting.

“I’m not good at poetry.” Fang Yun said.

“Descendants of the Military Strategists mainly study military strategies, so of course, they’re not good at poetry. Do you have a military book?” Hong Cheng asked with a smile.

“Well…” Fang Yun didn’t want to reveal the matter of the military book too early.

“Haha, I’m being nosy! Military books are so precious, of course, you can’t talk about them casually. I understand!” Hong Cheng showed a look of understanding.

The squad leader of the second squad suddenly said with a bitter face, “Old Hong, our team is on guard duty tomorrow night. If we don’t eat for a day, how can we patrol at night? Let’s postpone it for a day.”

Hong Cheng smiled and said, “Postponing it for a day is not a problem. However, if Fang Yun needs anything in the future, you guys have to help him out.”

“Of course.” The two squad leaders immediately said, they were scared of running.

“But, you guys have to wash tomorrow’s clothes! They have to be clean!” Hong Cheng said.

“Um…” The two squad leaders agreed weakly.

Fang Yun thought these veterans were quite amusing and laughed, “I hope you guys can keep my identity a secret and not reveal it.”

“Of course! If other teams or camps knew you were from the Military Strategists, they would definitely try to snatch you away. How could we be so stupid! But no matter what your identity is, you have to train and do what you’re supposed to do. You can’t have any special privileges.” Hong Cheng’s tone was very serious at the end.

“I’m really not a descendant of the Military Strategists, I’m just an ordinary soldier!” Fang Yun told the truth.

“That’s good to hear! But, do you have any military experience?” Hong Cheng asked.

“I have studied military books in depth, but this is my first time being a soldier.” Fang Yun said.

“Good! You’re even more composed than the descendants of the Military Strategists I’ve met. Once Fang Yun of our Jade Sea Prefecture becomes a Semi-Saint, you’ll have the chance to become a Great Scholar of the Military Strategists!” Hong Cheng looked at him encouragingly.

Fang Yun was speechless. (To be continued.)